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Some military veterans, including the parents of a Marine killed in action, are asking Gov. Gary Herbert to veto a bill that would name a portion of the Veterans Memorial Highway through Utah County after the late Utah House Speaker Becky Lockhart.
"I admire Becky," said Jamie Towse, whose son Cody was killed in Afghanistan two years ago. "I was just hoping that they would leave the honors to the veterans as they are, and designate something else in honor of Becky Lockhart."
Cody Towse was a 21-year-old Army medic deployed near Kandahar, nicknamed the "candy doctor" because he gave treats to the children. In May 2013, he was killed when an improvised bomb detonated while he was treating a soldier wounded in an earlier explosion.
"I do admire the work and strides [Lockhart] made in the Legislature and for women in other positions," Jamie Towse said Thursday, "but I would just like to see the honors paid to veterans stay as they are."
Towse and a group of military veterans are urging Herbert to veto HB385, which would designate the section of Interstate 15 the "Rebecca D. Lockhart section of the Veterans Memorial Highway."
Lockhart died in January, weeks after leaving office, from a rare and always fatal degenerative brain disorder.
The bill to name the section of the highway after the Provo Republican, sponsored by Rep. Keven Stratton, R-Orem, was co-sponsored by 72 of 75 House representative and passed both the House and Senate unanimously.
Stratton said before he introduced the measure that he met with veterans groups backing the proposed change. He notes that it doesn't remove the veterans from the highway's name, but co-names the section from Lehi to Spanish Fork.
"Obviously, the last thing we would want is ever do anything that would do anything but show our expression of gratitude and respect for what our veterans have done," he said. "Speaker Lockhart was a great advocate of the veterans."
She also was instrumental in the reconstruction of I-15 through Utah County, a project Stratton said came in well under budget without the use of federal money.
"It's a tribute to the leadership of Speaker Lockhart," Stratton said, " … an opportunity to recognize the contributions of a great woman."
Paula Stephenson, commander of the Utah American Legion, said the naming of the highway was a topic of discussion among veterans groups in the state. She said Lockhart did a lot of good things during her time in office, but she should not get top billing over the thousands of Utah veterans. Stephenson said she is also concerned that people who don't know Lockhart will assume she was a veteran.
"Hopefully, the signage is correct and identifies her as a politician," Stephenson said, "and hopefully the Veterans Highway gets top billing."
Herbert's spokesman, Marty Carpenter, said the governor considers all public input when he is considering whether to sign a bill. The governor has until Wednesday to decide whether to sign or veto the measure.
Twitter: @RobertGehrke